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Mr Eazi
Oluwatosin Aijbade otherwise known as Mr Eazi is a Nigerian musician. He is known in the UK for his feature on the RAYE song "Decline" and on the Rudimental, Anne-Marie, and Major Laser track "Let Me Live." Mr Eazi released his 13-track debut mixtape About to Blow in July 2013. It produced two singles: "Pipi Dance" and "Bankulize". The former was released in mid-2012, while the latter was released in 2013. Mr Eazi recorded the mixtape with producer Klu and released it within a week. The Fader magazine describes the mixtape as a "heavily dancehall-leaning SoundCloud playlist". Prior to releasing the mixtape, Mr Eazi worked with producers such as Magnom, Peeweezle, Nshona, Klumonsta, D'Tunes, and E-Kelly. Moreover, he was featured on Stay Jay's "Baby Lace" and Lousika's "Knockout". In 2014, Mr Eazi relocated to Nigeria. He was contacted by UK-based Ghanaian producer Juls, who got a hold of some of his recordings. Due to not being able to locate the audio files of his old recordings, Mr Eazi's attempt at working with Juls stalled for a long time. Mr Eazi eventually retrieved his audio files and sent them to Juls, who made a new beat and created the artwork for the mixtape's second single "Bankulize". The song features vocals from Ghanaian hiplife artist Pappy Kojo and was released in November 2014. The official remix of "Bankulize" features Burna Boy and was released in September 2016. Mr Eazi premiered the remix on Ebro Darden's Beats 1 radio show a month earlier. In August 2015, Mr Eazi released the dancehall-influenced track "Skin Tight". It features guest vocals from Ghanaian singer Efya and was produced by DJ Juls. In an interview with Complex magazine, Mr Eazi described the song as a "fusion". He said he spoke Ghanaian pidgin on the delivery and used Nigerian melodies. In August 2016, Nigerian record producer Cobhams Asuquo released a rendition of the song. DJ Caise released a house remix of the song in September 2016, while Terry G collaborated with Mr Eazi to release a remix of the song. In April 2017, "Skin Tight" was featured in an ad for the vodka brand Ciroc. Mr Eazi was featured on Eugy's 2016 hit single "Dance for Me". The Guardian newspaper included the song on its list of the 10 biggest African tracks of 2016. The music video for "Dance for Me" was directed by Vertex and Gabriella Kingsely. Robin Murray of Clash magazine described the song as a "salute to their joint Ghanaian heritage". On 17th June 2016, Mr Eazi released the R&B-inspired "Anointing", a song that features rap vocals from Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie. Mr Eazi first announced plans for the song in May 2016. In February 2016, organizers of the Vodafone-sponsored Ghana Music Awards made a decision not to nominate Mr Eazi in any of its Ghanaian-only categories. According to George Quaye, a spokesperson for Charterhouse, Mr Eazi was disqualified because of his nationality. Quayle also stated that Mr Eazi was only eligible to compete in the African Artiste of the Year category. However, he failed to pick up a nomination in the aforementioned category because the organizers felt that he wasn't as big as the other nominees. On 11th January 2017, Mr Eazi tweeted that Ghanaian music has a great influence over present-day Nigerian music. He received heavy backlash after posting the tweet and trended nationwide in both Ghana and Nigeria. On 12th January 2017, Mr Eazi apologized to Nigerians for the comments that he made. Following his performance at the 2016 Ghana Music Awards, Wizkid announced that he signed Mr Eazi to his imprint Starboy Entertainment. However, Mr Eazi told Star FM Ghana in July 2017 that he was not officially signed to Starboy. He also told Star FM Ghana that he was only doing business with the imprint. Mr Eazi's second mixtape, Life Is Eazi, Vol. 1 – Accra To Lagos, was released on 10th February 2017. The mixtape was initially scheduled for release on 11th February 2017. It debuted at #4 on the Billboard World Albums chart. The mixtape comprises 14 tracks, including three bonus tracks. Guest artists featured on the mixtape include Tekno, Olamide, Phyno, Mugeez, Medikal, DJ Cuppy, Falz, and Big Lean. Its production was handled by Maleek Berry, Masterkraft, Legendury Beatz, and Young John. Mr Eazi announced on Instagram that the mixtape sold 200,000 copies in pre-orders. While speaking to Julie Adenuga on her Beats 1 radio show, he said the mixtape was released as a a tribute to the two cities that influenced the evolution of his sound. The mixtape's lead single "Leg Over" was produced by E-Kelly and released on 2nd December 2016. The music video for "Leg Over" features cameo appearances from comedian Eddie Kadi, Maleek Berry, and Wizkid. Mr Eazi told Lawrence Burney from Noisey.com that the song was about being taken advantage of in a relationship. He also said the song was leaked and wasn't intended as a single. Upon its release in December 2016, "Leg Over" inspired numerous dance videos. Gabriel Myers Hansen, a critic and editor whose review was posted on the Music In Africa website, described the song as "gentle and minimalist". Hansen also said it is "freshened by delicate string and percussion placements reminiscent of highlife from decades ago". On 1st February 2017, Mr Eazi released "Tilapia" as the mixtape's second single. It features vocals from Ghanaian hip hop artist Medikal. On 1st March 2017, Mr Eazi released the Sesan-directed music video for "In The Morning". The song features vocals from Toronto rapper Big Lean. On 1st April 2017, Mr Eazi released the Teekay-directed music video for "Fight", a song that features additional vocals from DJ Cuppy. On 7th April 2017, Mr Eazi released the music video for "Business", a song that features vocals from Mugeez of R2Bees. In January 2019, it was announced that Mr Eazi would be performing at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. In August 2019, Mr Eazi launched emPawa Africa, a talent incubation initiative to nurture and support up-and-coming artistes in Africa. Thirty musicians would be enrolled in the first edition and would receive grant and mentorship to scale up their music career. The initiative was also supported by YouTube Music. Track Discography *Pipi Dance (Mr Eazi) * Bankulize (Mr Eazi) * Skin Tight (Mr Eazi) * Dance for Me (Eugy featuring Mr Eazi) * Leg Over (Mr Eazi) * Tilapia (Mr Eazi) * Decline (RAYE featuring Mr Eazi) * Let Me Live (Rudimental featuring Anne-Marie, Mr Eazi, and Major Laser) Category:Foreign singing talent Category:Albums Category:Collaborations Category:Singers